How many of you have customers that would leave you if they could save a few dollars down the road? They’re buying you for the price, and that’s never a good thing.
It means there’s no relationship there – no credibility and reliability on your expertise, your network, your results, or your ability to get the job done. That’s a dangerous place to be.
If you have clients right now that are with you because of price alone, you might want to think about letting them go, because your ability to grow your business is completely hampered.
The Importance of Creating Value
You are in the business of providing value. You’re enriching lives and businesses by building infrastructure, crafting furniture, creating signage, etc. But you can’t provide the best value you can AND be the cheapest quote out there. It’s NOT possible.
To be the cheapest, something has to give, whether that’s quality of work, reliability, communication, quality of supplies, expertise, etc.
If you regularly lower your prices because customers say “I can find this cheaper elsewhere”, then you’re taking an emotional approach to your quote register, rather than a logical one.
It means you don’t know your numbers, because you think this job will still be worth it for the business. You might think a sale is a sale at the end of the day, and it’s money in the bank…but it’s not!
If you know your numbers, you’d walk away from that customer being curious rather than emotional. You’d know for a FACT that you’re not going to make money and/or it’s not worth it for you.
How to Price Quotes for Value
Stop pricing quotes depending on which way the wind is blowing. Instead, you need to set up a pricing formula that makes it quicker and easier to quote. It’s very simple to do, and once you’ve done it, you’ll wonder why it’s taken you so long to do it!
The numbers you include in the formula shouldn’t be a guess, but EXACT numbers. Be sure to include any changes in material costs coming in the next 6 months.
The formula minus your profit margin gives you your true cost to execute the job. So you can look at these numbers next time a customer tells you the quote of a competitor, and compare it to this formula.
How does it compare to the true job cost? How much would lowering your price eat into your profit? All of a sudden, you know whether you want that job or not.
Creating a Relationship Based On Value
Value delivered but not perceived is of no value.
Sometimes customers understand the value you provide, but most of the time, you need to educate them. The opportunity to do this is when you follow up on your quotes.
It’s like a romantic relationship. You need to court your customers. Creating that relationship is crucial, and it starts from day 1, with your quoting and sales process.
If you’ve quoted an ideal job, at the ideal margin, to the ideal customers, take the time to educate them about the value you provide and how your quote reflects that.
Moving forward, your relationship will build with value at the root of it. They won’t be swayed by the promise of cheaper prices in the future, because the value they get from you can’t be replicated.
Value Builds Opportunity For Repeat and Referral business
The beautiful thing about creating value, and your client and team base realising that value, is that you’re building repeat business. From there, you’ll also get referral business. Both happen due to trust in the client.
But what you need to remember is that repeat and referral businesses, regardless of industry or size, are created by who you decide to let in, a.k.a your quotes register. These are the people you decided to invest the unpaid work of quoting and courting into before you delivered the job.
Therefore, repeat and referral business is rooted in your strength and conviction to know and stick to your ideal job, at the ideal margin, to the ideal client. Being able to say NO is your strength.
Ask yourself: Will this job I’m asked to quote end up being a 5* Google Review or case study? If the answer is yes, continue the quote. Do this, and in a year you’ll have a list of A-grade clients wanting to work with you and A-grade tradies wanting to join your team.
People won’t remember you for what you did, they’ll remember you for how you made them feel.
If you want to be part of a community of fellow tradies also trying to end price wars with competitors, join our private Facebook Group with weekly lives, recommendations, and networking.
Power to you this week,
Stefan Kazakis
CEO & Founder, Business Benchmark Group
